There are a few trees in India that can attract people very easily with their extraordinary combination of colours. The Lignum Vitae is such a kind of tree. The fresh and beautiful colours of The 'Lignum Vitae' tree have a sharp comparison with the predominant yellows and reds. This tree is known as 'Guaicum Officinale' in science. It came from the family of 'Zygophyllaceae'.

The Lignum Vitae tree has a gloomy, curved crown of tiny, dry leaves and the crown frames some bunches of small flowers that are blue in colour. It grows slow and after maturity it can reach the height of about 9 to 12 m. Generally, the tree has a twisted shaft and some complex branches. The bark of the trunk is smooth and spotted in shades of grey and light brown. However, in the branches, the bark is wrinkled and always ashy in colour. A lot of branchlets bounce from these pointed branches and all of them bear several dark green leaves. The leaves are consisting of two or three pairs of soft and stem less leaflets. The leaflets are rounded in size and about 2.5 cm in length. However, they vary in size and shape quite noticeably. Normally the end pair of the leaflets is the largest one. Each leaf has a tiny spot of orange at the base of the tree.

When the Summer begins, the whole crown of The Lignum Vitae tree wraps up in silvery blue colour and many of the flower clusters remain all through the monsoon. Some of the 'Lignum Vitae' trees have a second, but minor flowering period during the end of the year.The flower clusters of the Lignum Vitae tree present a gracefully shaded effect as the buds and newly opened flowers are coloured in quite a deep blue and the old flowers lose color and become palest silver.
Each of the tiny flowers contains five spreading petals that surround ten straight and yellow-tipped stamens. In the month of August, the small and round berries decorate the tree with some gold dots. They are green in colour when they appear in minute clusters. After they are matured, they take the bright yellow and orange colour. Their shape is irregular and they are compressed to form varying numbers of rounded wings.

The tree naturally radiates a lucid green resin from the trunk. Sometimes people obtain the resin by cutting the tree in sections and heating the wood. This gum can produce a very pleasant odour when it is melted. The wood of The Lignum Vitae tree is tough and olive-brown in colour. Though not so pleasant, the wood is also aromatic. As the wood is awfully firm and heavy, it is not suitable at all to float in water. In fact it is calculated as the heaviest of all commercial woods available. The 'Lignum Vitae' heartwood has no natural substitution at all for such uses as making the parts of the propeller shafts of steamships. This wood is also vividly used to make Bowling balls, mallets, bearings, etc. Almost all the parts of the 'Lignum Vitae' tree like the wood, gum, bark and fruits contain valuable medicinal qualities. One may get very surprised knowing the fact that there are no local names for the tree in India. The tree contains some magical properties with which the doctors can treat the maladies.

Uttar Pradesh Eco ParksThe state of Uttar Pradesh houses a number of protected areas. More specifically, it has one National Park and 24 Wildlife Sanctuaries. All of them have been established to provide protection to endangered biodiversity of the state. The Bombay Natural History Society has declared some bird sanctuaries as vital bird areas. The Uttar Pradesh eco parks are well known for their rich diversity of floral and faunal species.

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Khibul Lamjao National ParkKhibul Lamjao National Park is one of the renowned National Parks in India, noted for the endangered deer specie.

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Vansda National ParkVansda National Park is located in the district of Navsari in Gujarat. It was established as a national park in the year 1979. This national park is considered to be one of the most popular wildlife sanctuaries in Gujarat.

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Kalesar National ParkKalesar National Park is located in Yamunanagar district in the state of Haryana. The name of this national park has been derived from the name of a temple called the Kaleshar Temple or the Shiva Temple. One of the well known forest reserves of Haryana. Located at the foot hills of the Himalayas, Kalesar National Park has huge variety of wild animals which entertain the visitors.

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Eravikulam National ParkEravikulam National Park is an abode of some of the endangered species of the world including the Nilgiri Tahr.